Saturday, November 15, 2014

Have You Had Enough Yet?

Have you had enough of the conveyor belt yet?  Are you sick of Common Core and its evolution and socialist agendas?  How about early childhood programs and the blatant agendas of the mass media?  How many hours of t.v. do your kids watch anyway?  How many hours are you in front of the idiot box?

We can look back over the last four decades and see the results of this education.  It doesn't look too pretty.  With adults from ages 20-65 moving back in with their parents because they can't cut it on their own, to a rising number of people that don't even consider marriage (despite living together as husband and wife), to the nonchalant murdering of babies.  Clearly our nation is suffering from a deficiency in morality.  Where does this start?  How does the once greatest nation in the world sink so low?

To me it's obvious where all of this started- the early years of the 1900's.  With the explosion of the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the Federal Reserve, the battle for Women's Rights, and the birth of the Public School system, as we know it today.

The Industrial Revolution seduced people off the farms and into urban areas.  The mass of society sold their entrepreneurial roots for the promise of a steady paycheck, a fat pension, and social security benefits for life.  Essentially, what Americans did at this time was give up ownership for slavery.  They stopped educating themselves and paying attention to what was going on.  They left all of that up to the Giants of Business and the Government.  After all, the wealthy elite would never intentionally do anything to hurt regular folk...would they?

Yes.  They would...and they did.  That paycheck addiction turned a nation of independents into a nation of slaves.  The promise of a pension and Social Security Benefits created a nation of dependent entitlement babies.  Schooling became job training and education was thrown out the window; we can't have people thinking for themselves and questioning what's going on in business and government.  All of this was intentional, and is a significant part of what is causing our problems today.

The birth of the Federal Reserve.  This is the greatest contributor to the problems the world is facing right now.  Not only is the Fed contributing, but they are actually causing most of the problems.  The Federal Reserve was established in 1913 by the 8 wealthiest banks in the world.  It was created as a tool to steal the wealth of the citizens of the world, not just Americans.  One hundred years later they have proven to be quite effective at doing just that.  You don't have to look very far to see the impact of the Federal Reserve: the US, Canada, Japan, China, Russia, Italy, Greece, England, France.  Do you need any more examples?
The Federal Reserve has created a currency bubble that is about to pop, and take the major world economies down with it.  If you have debt, you are going to find out the true meaning of financial hardships over the next 12-18 months.  We are on the verge of the next Great Depression, you need to get out of debt right now.  When the currency bubble pops you are going to lose everything that you owe money on.

The battle for women's rights is interesting to me. Why was the Rockefeller Foundation one of the biggest financial supporters of this movement?  What could billionaires possibly have to gain by getting Mom out of the house and into the workforce?  Oh yeah, they would get the children.  Just as Karl Marx had said decades before,  somehow our state run schools weren't teaching that in history class.  Karl Marx's statement was, "Give me the hearts of the children and I will rule the world."  We now get to see the power of that statement, as the state totally controls and dictates what is, and isn't, taught in American schools.  We are feeling the effects of six-plus decades of the state's monopoly of education in this country.  All because 100 years ago women, suffering from the Eve Syndrome, decided that they needed to have the same role as men in their relationships and in society.  Satan is well versed on how to play this card.  He leverages pride like no one else.  The Women's Rights movement was just a re-run of what happened in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).

This brings us to the birth of the public school system (conveyor belt).  The state controlling the schools is a totally ridiculous idea in a truly free nation.  Requiring a license from the state to teach is totally absurd.  Anyone who feels called to teach, is capable of doing so.  They don't need verification from the state.  The problem is the false premise that conveyor belt schools operate under:  that one person can educate another.  No one can educate another person.  We can only educate ourselves.  Oliver DeMille says it this way:
    Teachers teach and students educate.
Only students can educate themselves.  That's why schools primarily produce slaves that don't know how to think for themselves.  They have to rely on the experts to tell them what to think about anything, and everything.This is how modern schools are set up.  The teacher stands at the head of the class and tells the students what to think about any given subject.  All the students are given a textbook that waters down the learning and the students are never challenged to read and dig deeper into the subject they are studying.  This is hard work.  Teachers certainly don't want to work this hard.  Their union says they don't have to.  If students were to really dig into, and study, the subjects they are "studying" in school, that would mean that the teachers would have to dig in just as hard.  Most teachers will never read a book after leaving college.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Your child's teacher has most likely never read a book, cover-to-cover, after college.  What could they possibly have to offer your children?

As you can see my passion is Freedom and Education.  Ironically, you can't have one without the other.  I strongly encourage you to get yourself and your children off the conveyor belt.  Our world needs educated leaders, not more mindless slaves.

Jason Fredrick
JFL Education Solutions

Monday, September 29, 2014

My Favorite Reading/Studying Strategy

Do you know how to read?  Do you understand how to maximize your reading efforts, especially if you don't have a lot of time for reading?  Do you have a pile of books that you really want to read, right now?

I am going to help you answer all of those questions right now.  Until recently I really didn't know how to read like a leader and maximize my reading efforts.  I always read one book at a time, I thought that is how you make sure you're focused on that book and getting the most out of it.  Then I read Turn the Page, part of the LIFE Leadership Essential Series.  This is where I was introduced to the idea of reading several books at a time.  I love this approach to reading and studying because it allows me to read six or seven books at one time.  Surprisingly, I actually get more out of all of the books by reading like this than I ever did reading just one book at a time.

I will share with you my study strategy to give you an idea of what I'm talking about; then you can put together something that works best with your schedule and learning style.

I have 7 books lists that I use, one for each day of the week.  Here's how my week looks:
Monday- Change the World Book Study book
Tuesday- LIFE Leadership Essential Series
Wednesday- LIFE Subscription book of the month
Thursday- 8 F's ( faith, family, following, finance, freedom, fitness, friends, fun) book for corresponding month.
Friday- LIFE Leadership's Top 50 book list
Saturday- JFL Education Solutions 100 Classics List 
Sunday- TJed 100 Classics List

With the book lists for Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I like to break up each of them into quarters and then attack them quarterly, according to the calendar.  But feel free to organize these lists however you want, after all, it's you're education.

Reading like this will probably be uncomfortable at first, if you're a one-book-at-a-time reader.  Don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed, get excited about all the books you will be reading that you thought you didn't have time for!  I challenge you to try this for 90 days, if you can't get comfortable with it then change.  But I strongly encourage you to start reading multiple books at a time.  You don't have to start with 6 or 7 like me, that's just what I have chosen for my hunger level.  Feel free to start with whatever is comfortable for you.  The point is to break the habit of being a one-at-a-time reader and start reading like a leader.  Even if you decide to start with 2 or 3 books at a time, your learning capacity will be stretched and your growth rate will accelerate like you won't believe.

Whatever you decide, I am proud of you for taking the time to read this article and evaluating your current study strategy.  You are capable of reading like this and I know that you will be richly rewarded if you take an approach like this to your reading.

Jason Fredrick
JFL Education Solutions


Friday, September 12, 2014

My Education Journey

My education started out in a very typical way.  Like most Americans, I was "educated" on the conveyor belt until the age of 18.  From kindergarten through eighth grade I attended a Lutheran Elementary school.  This proved to be a blessing, of sorts, primarily because I received a Christian education.  I was privileged to go to a school where we studied God's Word, everyday.  This proved to be extremely important as I strayed from God's path for my life, in my 20's.  Without that foundation that was built on God's Word from the ages of 5-14, I would not be writing this right now.  My life would look totally different.

After I left St. Matthew's Lutheran school, I headed off to the public high school in Oconomowoc, WI.  Here I received a very typical conveyor belt schooling experience.  Teachers cared very little, homework was pointless, and nobody wanted to be there...especially the teachers.  I did have a couple of really good teachers in my 4 years of high school, but most were just there punching the clock.  Overall my high school experience was pretty forgettable, except for the friends I met there.

I don't remember ever really being challenged in high school, or having a teacher taking an interest in me and really pointing out areas where I was gifted.  Overall high school was pretty easy for me, I could sleep through the classes, not do any homework, and still ace the quizzes and tests.  That wasn't because I was special, or even super smart, it was because that's how easy and unchallenging conveyor belt schooling is.

After high school I got a job in construction.  The biggest lesson this taught me is that I don't want to spend my life working for someone else.  So I started my first business when I was 22.  I started a landscaping and lawn mowing business with one of my brothers.  This business got off to a very slow start,  but over the next 11 years I learned many lessons about business, life, finances, the importance of communication, and most of all the difference leadership makes.  Mostly because my brothers and I lacked alot of the necessary leadership skills we needed to really succeed at a big level.  The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is the devastating effect a leadership void has on any situation in life.  When I left this business in 2009, my entire life was in shambles.  I was reeling from a lifetime of not learning and developing my leadership skills, and myself personally.

Enter Orrin Woodward's leadership team (then called TEAM).  I was introduced to TEAM in 2007 and that's when my education really began.  I plugged into a self-directed education program that consisted of:  monthly audio trainings, a book of the month program, and a monthly seminar.  I totally immersed myself in this self-directed leadership education.  It was like breathing oxygen into my soul.  As I sit here tonight looking back over the last 7 years, I can safely say that I have listened to thousands of leadership and personal development audios, I have read hundreds of books, and I have attended nearly 100 seminars.

As a result of this last education model, my life has been richly blessed.  On April 24, 2010 I married my wife Heidi.  Before meeting the LIFE Leadership community in 2007, I had totally given up believing that I would ever get married.  I was 31!  On January 4, 2012 Andrew arrived.  After Heidi, he truly is the greatest blessing God has ever given to me.  I currently own 2 businesses and I am truly living my God-given purpose.  None of this would have ever happened had I not been introduced to a self-directed leadership education 7 years ago.

If all you have known in your life is conveyor belt thinking, I strongly encourage you to investigate the power of a leadership education.  Your life will never be the same.

God bless
Jason Fredrick

Friday, July 25, 2014

Tutoring and Mentoring

At the JFL Leadership Academy, our approach to education is quite different than the approach taken by the state-run schooling system.  We begin the process by getting to know the student, as an individual, and learning where he/she wants to go in life.  We first get an understanding of what the student wants their life to look like, long term.  Once the long-term view is defined, then we develop a curriculum to help the student move in that direction.  It is more effective to help a child discover their God-given purpose if we stay focused on his strengths, and areas of interest.  This does not avoid the sometimes difficult task of learning in areas outside of his passions and interests.  Sometimes it is necessary to study certain topics that are outside the immediate areas of interest.  It does ensure, however, that your child is not being bogged down by countless hours of learning things that they will never use.

The key is to have a proper balance.  The focus of study varies with each student.  That's the point of a self-directed education,  each student walks their own path.  The path is never exactly the same for any two people.  It's insane to try to force every child down the same path.  If you are ready to recognize your child as a special, rare, individual it's time to get him/her off the conveyor belt, and get them started on a self-directed leadership education.  Your child is worth it!

Jason Fredrick
JFL Education Solutions

Saturday, May 31, 2014

May's Change the World Group

This morning our 'Change the World' discussion group met in Oconomowoc, WI.  In attendance was:  Nathan Fredrick, Alan Fredrick, Alice Fredrick, and myself.  We began the discussion with giving everyone a chance to share about what their 'change the world' project is.

With this group, the common theme seemed to be growing themselves, so as to have more influence with the people around them and in their community.  This is a great place to start for everybody.  You are not going to impact anything if you don't grow yourself, daily and intentionally.

It was great to hear how everybody was able to take something from The Magic of Thinking Big and apply it immediately towards their change the world project.  I am so proud of the group that showed up today,  they are all experiencing small victories that are going to lead to a significant impact in their communities and families.

I would strongly encourage everyone to come out to the next Change the World discussion group, which will be held on Saturday, June 28.  We will be using Toughen Up by Claude Hamilton to guide the discussion.

Jason Fredrick
JFL Education Solutions

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Conveyor Belt Glaze

A while ago, I had the privilege to hear Oliver DeMille give a talk at a LIFE Leadership Conference in which he discussed the amount of glaze that people develop over the course of their lives.  I knew this was real, I see it every day in adults.  I see it often in interactions with teenagers.  I haven't really noticed it with children until this year.  I am in my second year of teaching Sunday School at my church. This year I am teaching 3rd and 4th graders.  I have a mix of kids that go to public school, as well as kids that attend our church's parochial school.

I am astounded every week at how unprepared these 9 and 10-year olds are to have a discussion about God's Word, with one or two exceptions.  I try to use a leadership style with my students- reading through the text and asking questions.  I try to avoid lecturing at all.  These kids get lectured at every day they're in school.  More lecturing from an "expert" is not what they need.  They need someone to challenge them and make them think.  I am actually surprised how difficult it is to use leadership education, asking questions and trying to go deeper, with kids who have only known the conveyor belt.  Even as young as my students are, their glaze is already massive, and growing.

I have two students who won't participate at all.  There are one or two that will really think and go deeper into topics.  The rest of the students will answer a question with "the right" answer.  Very few of my students can even communicate what they think something means, or could mean.  At this young age they have already been programmed to fear being wrong and that there is only one right answer.

My time with these kids is very limited, 45 minutes a week.  I pray that I am having an impact in their life, on their thinking, but I just don't get enough time with them.  They are getting pounded 7 or 8 hours-a-day, 5 days-a-week, with conveyor belt training.  How can I compete with that?

My point with all of this is this:
   You are reading this.  I could just as likely be talking about your child.  What are you doing to give your son or daughter a leadership education?  You are responsible for the amount of glaze your child has already.  When will you get the courage to get your child off the conveyor belt?  It's not too late, but one day soon it will be.  You are responsible for preparing your children for adulthood.  How prepared are they?

God bless
Jason Fredrick

Saturday, January 25, 2014

JFL Education Solutions Referral Rebate Program

Referral Rebate Program

1. Anyone a current student refers receives a 5% discount on their first class, or first month of coaching.

2. The purchases of students that you refer will be credited to you as long as JFL Education Solutions exists.  You do not have to currently be using a JFL Education Solutions service to continue collecting your Referral Rebate.  We appreciate all referrals, and will continue to reward you for them for the life of this company.

3. Referral Rebate is based upon the dollar amount of the services used by all customers you refer in a given month.  Referral Rebates are paid monthly.

Referral Rebate Chart
Rebate % $ amount purchased by Referrals
                        1% $  100
                        5% $  300
                      10% $  900
                      15% $1800
                      20% $3600

4. Ex:  All the customers that refer use $2200 of services from JFL Education Solutions in February.  Your Referral Rebate would be 15% x $2200 for a total of $330.